A number of variety of insect traps are commercially available today. In one common form an ultraviolet light attracts insects to an electrical grid which electrocutes the insects. This form of device may present safety hazards to people in the environment, and also the sound of insects being electrocuted may not be desirable in a commercial establishment such as a restaurant or the like.
Another form of insect trap which utilizes a black or ultraviolet light projects the insects into a tray carrying toxic liquid chemicals. This form of insect trap cannot generally be used in food handling plants or restaurants, and is also somewhat difficult to service.
The patent art also discloses other forms of insect traps which are not in widespread commercial usage. One such form is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,336,694 issued Aug. 22, 1967 to Robert A. O'Connell. This form of insect trap projects an air curtain across an ultraviolet lamp, the insects flying toward the lamp and entering the air curtain are thrown into a container. When removing the container from this form of apparatus it has been found that frequently large numbers of insects will fly out of the container as no means are provided within the container itself to insure that the insects will either die or be incapable of leaving the container when the container is being serviced. Therefore this form of insect trap is not popular, particularly with those people who must occasionally empty the containers.
Another form of insect trap is shown in German Pat. No. 665,247 issued Aug. 1, 1935. The trap shown in this patent utilizes two incandescent lamps to attract the insects, a fan, wands which may be coated with a sticky substance, and a trough disposed below the wands to receive the insects. As the wands (18) are not disposable and must be recoated periodically, this form of device has never obtained widespread commercial success.